Court of Session Judgment Paves the Way for Equal Pay Justice in Glasgow City Council

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Court of Session judgment paves the way for equal pay justice in Glasgow City Council

Thousands of low paid women will now be able to proceed with their equal pay claims against Glasgow City Council (GCC) after an attempt by the council to avoid pay-outs was kicked out by the Court of Session this morning (Tuesday 30 May).

GCC had appealed a ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) of March 2016 that they had continued to discriminate against women through the introduction of payment protections upholding the earnings of male colleagues following the initial wave of equal pay awards.

GMB Scotland, which has been representing the claims of over 1,500 members, has hailed the judgment and is now calling on GCC’s new SNP administration to swiftly resolve all outstanding equal pay claims, as per its manifesto commitment.

GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said: “After years of legal wrangling by Glasgow City Council, this morning’s judgment paves the way for thousands of low-paid women to claim justice.

Times have been tough for these women who have had to endure this discrimination against a decade of real terms wage cuts across Scottish local government as a result of stifling austerity.

The vast majority of them are our carers, caterers and cleaners, employed on the bottom rungs of the local government pay spine yet making some of the biggest contributions to the running of our local services.

The new council leadership has been elected on a manifesto promise to resolve all outstanding equal pay claims and it goes without saying that GMB Scotland fully expects this to be honoured as swiftly as possible."